Xander University

All I saw was black.

The so-called dragon slayers had pulled a pillowcase over my head once we got to the bottom of the mountain.

My stomach churned as we sped along in silence. We braked at signs I couldn’t see. Hit corners I couldn’t anticipate. I asked them to slow down. They didn’t answer.

I was starting to think I never should’ve left the mansion.

Out of nowhere, an older man’s voice sounded in the car. It was muffled, like he was on the phone, and I couldn’t make out a thing he said.

“Hey, Xander,” Nautica said, deference in his tone. “Your son and I just scored you a lovely prize near the Dobrzyckas’ mansion… No, we didn’t capture them… We got something bigger…”

Happy laughter sounded from the other end.

I felt nauseous, and it wasn’t from the motion sickness.

Nautica and Mason weren’t any better than Loch and Hael. They were treating me like a fucking prize. A mounted trophy. Why couldn’t they see me as a human being?

“We’ll be there soon, Xander,” Nautica said with glee before hanging up.

I hoped so. I already had a serious bone to pick with this Xander guy.

I felt for the mint bracelet around my wrist. If I could just wriggle out of it, I could contact my mates and get the fuck out of here. I knew I’d be punished for escaping, but at least the Dobrzyckas wouldn’t kill me. According to Nautica, my death would mean theirs too.

I quietly slipped a finger under the bracelet, careful not to make a sound. It actually seemed kind of loose. If I could just locate the locking mechanism…

“Don’t even think about it,” Nautica said from the passenger seat, reaching back and nudging my shoulder with a cold object I recognized as his pistol. “I’m watching your every move.”

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat.

“We’re almost there, Madeline,” Mason said in a somewhat kinder tone.

“Good,” I snapped. “’Cause I could really use a fresh tampon.”

***

An hour later, my arms unshackled and the pillowcase removed from my head, I exited a public restroom with a fresh tampon in place. At least the dragon slayers weren’t complete pricks.

I took a moment to look around. The stone corridor looked like something out of the Middle Ages, complete with faded tapestries hanging from the walls. Most of them seemed to depict violent dragon slayings.

Nautica and Mason appeared beside me, slipping their arms firmly through mine.

“Ready to meet Xander?” Nautica asked with a smirk.

“Do I have a choice?” I mumbled, knowing full well I didn’t.

The dragon slayers led me down the corridor into a courtyard. Hordes of teens, my age and a little older, flitted between old ivy-covered buildings. It looked like some sort of fancy rich-people college. We’d visited a lot of them when I was at Graceful Springs, but this place didn’t seem familiar.

Nautica and Mason guided me through a set of tall mahogany doors and into what appeared to be some sort of church. Pews were arranged around a blood-red rock pierced with rusty swords of all shapes and sizes.

A lone man in a gray suit walked around the rock, studying it closely. He looked as if he was waiting for it to tell him a secret.

“Xander,” Nautica called.

The man turned, staring at us from behind gold-rimmed spectacles. He was middle-aged with a head of graying red hair and a long, crooked nose.

“Welcome back, gentlemen,” he said in a measured voice. His eyes fixated on me. “And who is this?”

“Father, this is Madeline,” Mason said with nervous joy. “She’s—”

“~Mated~ to Hael and Loch Dobrzycka,” Nautica interrupted, hogging the glory for himself.

Mason looked like the wind had been knocked out of him. I couldn’t help but feel a little bad. Nautica was an asshole, but Mason seemed like his unwitting sidekick.

“I see,” Xander said, taking a step closer to me. I felt like a sample under a microscope. I opened my mouth to say something, but the old man beat me to the punch.

“Lock her up at once. After some study, we’ll schedule an execution.”

“Execution!” I cried. “Wait a minute. I’m not your enemy. I’m human too—”

Xander turned back to the stone as if he didn’t hear me. Nautica joined him. I struggled uselessly against Mason’s grip. He looked at me apologetically.

“She could be very useful to us,” Nautica said with an unfeeling tone. “Before the execution, I’d like to use her as leverage against the Dobrzyckas.”

Xander stroked his chin in consideration. I took advantage of the silence. There was no way I was going to accept my execution sitting down.

“Excuse me, can I fucking say something?”

“Mason,” Xander said intently, glancing over my head at his son. A firm hand immediately covered my mouth. I screamed into Mason’s palm.

Xander turned back to Nautica. “Do with her as you wish. Just be sure to lock her up and make sure she’s monitored. If she gets that bracelet off, she’ll tell the Dobrzyckas everything.”

They assumed I was Loch and Hael’s pet without asking me a single question. I could think for myself, thank you very much, and right now, I was thinking about what I’d give to see my dragon mates split Xander for brunch.

“Mason can mind her for now,” Xander continued.

“Son, educate this unfortunate dragon whore about the true history of Requiem City. Maybe we can convince her to take her own life. Her sacrifice could show mortals we can stand up to dragons trying to reclaim their land.”

“That’s brilliant, Xander!” Nautica exclaimed happily.

“I don’t know if we should be taking an innocent life,” Mason mumbled.

That was fucking it. I was sick of being ignored while my own life was literally at stake.

I sank my teeth into Mason’s hand. He screamed until I let the poor guy wrestle it from my mouth. I spat blood as Xander and Nautica watched me, frozen. I had their undivided attention.

“I want an explanation,” I demanded, staring straight at Xander. “What did the Dobrzyckas do to deserve all this? And why are you planning to kill me?”

Mason moved to grab me again, but Xander gestured for him to stop. He stepped toward me.

“Foolish girl,” he said, his voice quaking with emotion. “You have no idea who you’re mated to. The Dobrzyckas have killed hundreds for the sheer pleasure of a mortal’s pain. They’re death dealers. Serial killers. Hell’s spawn.

“My son will gladly explain.” He eyed Mason. “As long as you promise not to bite again.”

I glanced at Mason, nursing his bleeding hand. I nodded slowly. I didn’t want to hurt him again. Xander and Nautica were much more deserving.

“How old are you, girl?” Xander asked. There was a change in his voice, and his eyes probed me with renewed interest.

“Eighteen,” I told him.

“Eighteen,” Xander repeated slowly. “Who were you before the Dragon Lords branded you?”

I didn’t want to tell this jerk anything about my life. But then again, there wasn’t much to tell. I sighed, lowering my guard just a bit.

“I was nobody. An orphan. Dropped off at a residential center when I was a toddler.”

Xander stroked his chin. I could practically see the wheels spinning in his head. His sphinxlike face was as maddening as Loch’s or Hael’s, but much less pleasant to look at.

“Change of plans. And keep this to yourselves, gentlemen,” he said finally. “Instead of locking her up, give young Madeline a tour and put her in one of the guest rooms. One of the nice ones. She will live.”

“I prefer this plan, to be honest, Father,” Mason said with relief.

I stared hard at Xander. What was with the sudden change of heart? What had I said to make him reconsider?

Xander turned away from us. “You’re dismissed.”

“Xander,” I started. “Why—”

“~Leave~!” he hissed.

Mason grabbed my arm. This time I didn’t struggle. I knew I was lucky to avoid being executed.

Still…what secret was Xander hiding? My mind raced with possibilities, but I just didn’t know. My eyes remained on the old man as Mason and I left the room. I’d find out one way or another.

***

After a quick visit to the infirmary to treat his hand, Mason gave me a tour of the grounds.

“This is Xander University,” he explained. “To the outside, it looks like a religious school. But that’s a cover for what’s really taught here—dragon slaying.

“Mortals train here to learn how dragons camouflage themselves in the world and how to kill them. Most of the students here aren’t natural-born slayers.”

I scoffed. “There are ‘natural-born’ dragon slayers?”

“Yes,” he continued. “Nautica, my father, and I were born from bloodlines with long histories of battling dragons. We have an innate understanding of their greatest strengths and weaknesses. We are the guardians of Requiem City.”

I shook my head, not believing what he was telling me. “You have to know this sounds made up.”

“The stories are true, no matter what you believe. Requiem City and its surrounding mountains are the only places on earth where dragons still exist. We try to keep the population contained, but our true goal is to completely eradicate them. They’re a species that should be extinct.”

“That sounds a bit harsh,” I said. Though, I would probably have found his story a lot more interesting if I wasn’t still preoccupied with Xander. I couldn’t get that strange, curious expression out of my head.

“Do you think Xander will really keep me alive?” I asked.

“I don’t see why he wouldn’t. He seems to have taken a liking to you. For him, that’s pretty rare,” Mason responded.

“Maybe he thinks I’m a long-lost relative,” I mused. “You know, with the red hair and all…”

Mason stopped, seeming to consider. He stared at me with the same intrigued expression as his father. Finally, he shook his head.

“No. I don’t think so. My father would never… It doesn’t make sense…”

“What?” I asked.

“I had a younger sibling,” Mason admitted, his voice edged with sadness. “But they died. My parents were crushed. They never talk about it.”

“Was your sibling a boy or a girl?”

He shook his head. “I can’t remember. I was so young at the time, barely four or five years old.”

“What do you remember?”

He looked at me questioningly. But something in his expression must have made him trust me enough to keep talking.

“I remember sitting on the couch and my mom placing a bundle of blankets in my arms. There was a shock of red hair and a scrunched-up nose. I couldn’t take my eyes off them. I helped my mom feed them, picked out clothes for them to wear. Even tried to get them to play with me.

“And then, one day, they were gone.”

I thought over this new information as Mason led me to my room. Was I out of my mind, or could I really be his sister? I couldn’t remember my real parents at all. Their faces had always been a mystery.

As Mason began humming absentmindedly, my stomach dropped.

It was the exact same song that I’d sang to put Loch and Hael to sleep.

~Holy shit.~

Was I a dragon slayer? Was that why my lullaby put the Dobrzyckas to sleep? I must’ve learned that song from my real parents…

Was Xander my father? It made complete sense. But if he was, why did he abandon me? What was wrong with me?

No. What was wrong with ~him~?

I hardly preferred Xander University to Loch and Hael’s mansion, but I wasn’t leaving until I knew the truth. Was I fated to be a dragon slayer, or a dragon’s mate?